James Whitner is the owner and founder of The Whitaker Group, which includes A Ma Maniére, Social Status, A.P.B., and Prosper.
Highlighting footwear’s up-and-coming power players is a good thing. The industry is driven by youth and it’s important to recognize contributions from people who are pushing it forward. But, after seeing FN’s 40 Shoe Executives Under 40 Revolutionizing the Business, any potential positivity was quickly negated by the glaring lack of diversity. It included so few minorities, no black men or women, and it’s lazy journalism.
How were they comfortable with presenting this ranking of the best and brightest to the world with zero racial diversity? There clearly wasn’t a pause to check if this accurately reflected the sharp point of the footwear market, consumer, or the many mixed faces of the world. When you’re not mindful of the many elements of a group and how they apply to the world, nothing good can happen.
Acknowledgment of this issue is the first step. When thinking about the footwear industry and how it shifts and moves the culture forward, there is an automatic connection to elite athletes, entertainers, influencers, and creatives, most of which are people of color—both men and women.
Do the people at FN see the men and women of color in our industry who have pivotal roles in shifting and moving the culture to the masses? It should be considered a journalistic requirement for any reputable publication, especially one that claims to highlight the best and brightest executives in an industry.
I compare this to the NBA MVP race. A couple years ago when LeBron James was asked if he thought Steph Curry was deserving of the award, James went on to question what the criteria was for the award was. Without true criteria (I don’t believe the NBA has a specific criteria for MVP), the race to who gets recognized becomes a subjective competition based on the different biases of the anointed voters, and that’s leveraged heavily in the decision making process.
The FN article missed an opportunity to truly define what makes an executive “revolutionary.” No disrespect to the folks who made the list. I’m confident they’re all deserving of acknowledgement. However, is it fair to say an HR professional wields more influence in the industry than someone like Jamaal Lucas who leads a product team at Jordan? He’s someone that’s surprised and delighted many sneaker fans, almost every Saturday morning, for more than 10 years.
Is it fair to ask if a leased merchandising professional has been more impactful to the industry than Karie Conner, a person who's created strategy, distribution, sales, and marketing plans in some of most influential markets in the U.S. and now across the globe?
Adidas has been on a hell of a run over the past couple years and an integral part of that is the work of Eric Wise, Cameron Mason, and Jimmy Manly. Wise managed Adidas Originals from irrelevance to a bright shining star it is today. Mason has been an important part of every hyped Adidas release that’s meant anything to the brand. Manly was one of the original architects of the Adidas run, helping to push the product plan in a new direction (he’s since taken a even more elevated role at Converse). Just look objectively at the increase in Adidas’s stock price over the last few years. You can’t ignore the impact of these people as you look to create a list of the best and brightest in our industry.
These are just some people. There are more like Chad Easterling, marketing director at Jordan Brand, and Adrian Bell who serves as senior counsel for corporate governance at Nike. There’s also Kimberly Mack Ireland, senior apparel product director for Nike Young Athletes, Brodrick Foster, director of footwear and apparel for Converse Kids, and Adidas’ senior director of basketball footwear, Rashad Williams. The list goes on and on.
If FN is the industry bible for footwear as they proclaim, there is an expectation to take an accurate look at the entire industry and the diversity it encompasses.
